Utah State Route 313

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State Route 313
Dead Horse Point Mesa Scenic Byway Defined by Utah Code §72-4-137, maintained by UDOT
Length:	22.5 mi[1] (36 km)
West end:	Dead Horse Point State Park
Major junctions:	Canyonlands National Park
East end:	U.S. 191 near Moab
State Routes in Utah < SR-312 SR-314 >
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State Route 313 is a Utah state highway in San Juan and Grand Counties. The entire length of the highway has been designated the Dead Horse Point Mesa Scenic Byway.^[2] The highway is an access road for both the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park. The highway is a toll road. Westbound traffic is charged a state park entrance fee at the park boundary.

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Major intersections 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Route description

The highway begins at Dead Horse Point State Park at the visitor center. It travels at north then west at roughly 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in a flat area known as the Big Flat, where it intersects the entrance to Canyonlands National Park. The highway then turns north to Sevenmile canyon. The highway descends rapidly into Seven Mile canyon to 4,500 feet (1,400 m). While traversing the canyon there are several view areas along the highway overlooking both Sevenmile canyon, Dead Horse Point, and two rock formations called the Monitor and the Merrimack, both named after warships in the American Civil War. Shortly thereafter, the road terminates at U.S. Route 191, about 9 miles (14.5 km) north of Moab. ^[3]

[edit] History

The original roadbed was featured blind switchbacks and an 11% grade on the descent into Seven Mile canyon. The access road to Canyonlands National Park was rebuilt 1988, and the construction crews severely damaged SR-313 in the process. The highway was completely rebuilt, starting in 1989, to its modern form. ^[4] The reconstruction reduced the maximum grade from 11% to 8% and re-graded the switchbacks to be on level ground to eliminate the blind corners.

[edit] Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[1]	Road(s)	Notes
San Juan	Dead Horse Point State Park	0.000	Parking lot for overlook
		0.175	View Area
		0.436	View Area
		1.281	Campgrounds
		1.428	Visitors Center
		1.487	Toll Booth
Grand		3.767	park boundary
		7.960	Canyonlands National Park
		8.520	Campgrounds
		14.025	Big Mesa Campgrounds
		14.117	View Area
		16.253	View Area
		18.003	View Area
		20.222-20.727	Seven Mile Canyon Campgrounds
		21.883	View Area
		22.259	Union Pacific Railroad-Potash Spur
		22.459	National and State Park information area
		22.506	US-191

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Utah Routes 301-666